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Staff Plifering and Theft: What To Do |
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Written by Mike White
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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 17:42 |
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The restaurant industry is pretty much the same as any other when it comes to staff pilfering and theft. What sets it apart from many other businesses is that the majority of restaurants are small businesses for whom the loss of a few hundred bucks a night is a big deal. Wal*Mart doesn't mind, they just pass the cost on - you do mind and can't just raise prices. We asked Mike White of Omni Career Search - a well known recruiter and restaurant consultant - to share some common questions about pilfering and how best to avoid it.
Q I own a small pub and am unable to afford a surveillance system or another manager. What can I do to deter theft when I am not there?
To give you a quick answer: Controls! You should have all liquor storage areas locked up and be using a bottle for bottle breakage system. Inventory needs to be conducted weekly and you should be checking in all liquor orders. Bartenders have to be held accountable for free pouring. A pub owner I know in Southie randomly shows up and pulls the register draw. This allows him to spot check his bartenders. Integrity Shoppers are a good tool too. Shoppers reports are effective for keeping your bar staff on their toes and they can also be used as a performance recognition tool.
Q What do the big chains and established restaurants do to keep their bartenders honest?
Most of the chains have defined policies and methods of control. Here are a few policies that you can implement:
A 30/60/30 Policy.
This allows the bartender 30 seconds to greet the guest, 60 seconds to make the drink, 30 seconds to ring it in. This policy is for cash and carry and tabs (tabs should be maintained after each and every transaction). The chains rarely fire a bartender for stealing. They terminate them for violating the 30/60/30 policy.
Tips/Change/No Sale Policy.
Bartenders are not allowed to put tips into their cash draw. They are also not allowed to make change out of their tip jar. Bartenders should not have any "No Sale" transactions during the course of their shift. This policy prevents theft and holds the bartender accountable.
Complimentary Sales Policy.
All complimentary sales should be rung in and approved by management. This policy also prevents theft and tracks inventory.
Q I am a bartender and have been for 11 years. I do not appreciate the fact that you paint our profession as a bunch of thieves. Shouldn’t club and bar owners use spotters as a recognition tool rather than a whipping stick?
Recognition can only come if the spotters report comes back clean. We conduct dozens of checks every week and 35% of them come back with an integrity issue. That leaves 65% of the reports coming back clean and this statistic does support your gripe that indeed most bartenders are honest. However, after we issue the reports to ownership or management it is up to them to use the report as a recognition tool. I’m constantly advising owners and managers to use the reports as a form of recognition to reinforce desired behavior. Omni uses a better tool for recognizing staff members, it’s called a Mystery Shop which is more of an evaluation than an investigation. Please keep in mind that when ownership or management hires someone to conduct a Shoppers Report it is because they suspect something is wrong or their "cost of goods sold" is way off. I commend you for speaking up and encourage you to sit with management and see if they are open to using the reports to encourage honest behavior. Be realistic about the whipping though, thieves should be exposed and held in a negative light.
Mike White can be reached at
OMNI Career Search in
Norwell, MA
Phone 781.982.5627
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 April 2008 13:42 )
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Loss Prevention